Roller skating has become a major outdoor recreational sport. Similar to other sports, roller skating also has inherent dangers. Many skaters are injured every year and a majority of the accidents are due to drivers of motor vehicles unintentionally striking the skaters. Roller skating safety has been partially solved with the implementation of various devices. These devices range from brake pads connected to the skate to help the skater to slowdown, knee and elbow protective gear, reflective patches and helmets containing elaborate electronics that provide flashes of light.
There are two main safety factors for outdoor roller skating. The first is a way in which to decelerate to a stop and the second is a way in which skaters can make themselves highly visible to the public.
Conventional roller skates utilize a toe mounted brake pad stopper on the front portion of the skate. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,253 discloses a toe stop which has a flat floor-engaging surface disposed at such an angle that it engages flat against the floor when the skate is tipped forwardly creating frictional contact with the surface traveled. However, with the recent popularity of in-line roller skates, the conventional skates are not used as frequently for outdoor skating making the toe stop mounting virtually obsolete.
In-line roller skates utilize two or more wheels positioned to rotate within a common, vertical plane. As disclosed for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,067,736 and 5,052,726, in-line roller skates can have a brake pad member positioned behind the rear wheel formed from a synthetic material having a high coefficient of friction. When the roller skate is pivoted rearwardly about the rear most axle bringing the brake pad base into frictional contact with the road surface, it creates resistance between the two, which in turn reduces the speed of the roller skater.
Although the available in-line skate brake pad efficiently slows the skater to a stop, this method of design does not indicate to persons of close proximity to the skater that the skater wishes to decelerate or stop. There is no real audible or visual means implemented during the stopping action of the current mentioned brake pads to warn persons or vehicles of close proximity to the skater.
The combination of a spark generating attachment with conventional roller skates is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,286,806 and 3,086,788 disclose a spark generating attachment for conventional roller skates. Although these are an excellent idea for a visual display the designs are for conventional roller skates and will not work with the new in-line roller skates. In addition, these spark generating attachments are antiquated, complicated in design and expensive to manufacture. Most importantly, they are not in any way combined in a brake pad and do not aid the skater in decelerating to a stop.
While the prior art mentioned above may accomplish their original objectives they suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) The conventional roller skate brake pad does not fit the new more popular outdoor in-line roller skate. PA1 (b) The prior art in-line skate brake pad does not provide an audible or visual means in which to alert others of the roller skater's intentions to reduce speed or stop. PA1 (c) The spark generating attachments mentioned above are designed for conventional roller skates and for aesthetic purposes only. In addition, they are complicated to use and manufacture and in no way do they assist the skater in slowing down or stopping.